Earlier this year, Studio Trigger (a studio formed by former Gainax members) released the hit animation Little Witch Academia worldwide through YouTube. Now, they’re out to make a sequel, and this time they’d like to involve their fans so as to be able to deliver a better finished product. 34X9UUVTA8KN

On July 9, Studio Trigger started a project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter, where they started collecting pledges towards Little Witch Academia 2. Studio Trigger already had funds to create a 20-minute sequel. However, the 20-minute runtime feels a little on the short side, and so Studio Trigger is hoping to use additional money gathered from fans through Kickstarter to make the episode 15 minutes longer.

The studio had aimed to raise US$150,000 in 30 days. Like with every project on Kickstarter, you can pledge a small amount of money towards the anime, and if the project reaches its goal, your money will be sent to the studio. If 30 days pass and the project hasn’t gathered $150,000, your money stays in your bank account.

If you’re a fan of Little Witch Academia, you may want to rush over to their Kickstarter page and pledge money right now. But before you do —

They exceeded their goal in less than five hours! Over 15,000 fans have pledged money! Of course, this screenshot was taken yesterday. How about when this article is written?

The project is only two days in and they’ve almost reached double their goal! If you aren’t familiar with Little Witch Academia, you might be wondering how in the world the anime has so many fans.

Little Witch Academia was produced by Studio Trigger as part of Anime Mirai 2013. The story is centered around a girl named Akko who aspires to become a witch like the famous Shiny Chariot. Following her dreams, Akko enrolls in the prestigious witch academy Luna Nova. However, she can’t ride a broom, often falls asleep during lectures, and is looked down upon for admiring Chariot. Despite all the hardships, Akko finds an opportunity to become a hero.

The anime is available on YouTube, where it has received over 700,000 views. You can watch the entire 25-minute anime with subtitles below.

Studio Trigger was formed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Otsuka, who both formerly worked at Gainax and worked on titles like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Currently, they are producing their first anime series, Kill la Kill, scheduled to air this fall. As for Little Witch Academia 2, the sequel is scheduled to premiere in the winter of 2014.

Although the Kickstarter project has already met its goal, you can still pledge money until August 7. As a reward, you can get an artbook, Blu-ray Disc, or even exclusive items straight from the studio.